Courage and Cowardice
by Sasha Derksen
Summary: The year is 1920, and Belarus and Ukraine reunite under the roof of the Soviet union. They have a talk, one on one. R & R please!


The hallways were silent, and so was the entire mansion. That was save for a clicking of boots and sizzling of medicine on torn flesh. After a while, the clicking stopped and halted, the person causing it listened to the only sound present other than silence. The woman had no patience, however, and opened the door she stood in front of. The room was dark, and the light from the hallway cast light on a chair, with a figure slumped on top of it, the figure of a young woman, with long blonde hair and amethyst eyes that were set on the floor. Natalia paid no attention to the woman who just entered until she flicked a lightswitch, causing an old lightbulb to lazily light up.

"It's about time you came back." She stated and closed the door behind herself.

"Leave me be, Katerina." Natalia weakly responded. She harbored no strength to speak to her, and she was one of the last things on her mind.

"You expect me to leave even though I haven't seen you in a year? What kind of sister would I be?" Katerina said with a concerned frown.

Natalia turned to face her sister with emotoinless eyes: "A good one."

"I'm surprised that you still have the energy to be sarcastic, your lands were just split in two." All light disappeared from Katerina's face and she sat down on a bed across from the blonde.

"What do you want me to say?" Natalia narrowed her eyes at the other, "If you want to bother someone, I'm not the person you're looking for."

"I came here to hear you apologize." Katerina crossed her legs, mirroring her sister's expression.

That expression changed, though, and Natalia sat upright on the chair, anger in her eyes: "I have nothing to apologize for, not to you, at least."

"Really? Nothing? Not for leaving me with our borderline insane brother, who can't comprehend what he's doing - there was just a revolution, Natasha! First it was the Baltics, then you. Don't you understand that I can't care for him and I can't keep myself safe at the same time? Not for forming a marriage in a heartbeat, and with whom, with whom, little sister? With Toris? Don't you remember what happened when our _Отец_ was still alive? Do you remember what his ancestors to us?" The elder ranted. Natalia listened to her sister with a deadpan look in her eyes, but the last string of her sister's thinking out loud sparked rage in her as well.

"There were fucking bags of rotting flesh on the streets. I won't forget that. This marriage was created because we couldn't live under Ivan's rule. His country is getting bigger every day, and his mental state is worsening. The only thing I am sorry for is you having to live with him alone, but that's not my problem. You had a chance to leave, too." The Belorussian gripped her bandaged arm closer to her. There was a stream of peroxide and blood dripping from it, but neither sisters took it into account. The conversation at hand was more important. Getting back on topic of the conversation, Natalia drifted it from herself and her faults to Katerina, who was more than confused by the question, but her confidence came back to her in a heartbeat.

"I had a chance, yes. But it was a rotten chance. Had I taken it, I would've probably ended up worse than you did. Independance is only good if your country is thriving, which neither mine nor yours is at the moment. Why isn't having another country take care of your economics, military, and social issues bad? You're an idiot for trying to gain independace, especially at this time, Natasha." Katerina scoffed, looking over her sister with a disproving glare, at which the other formed her lips into something of a smirk.

"I am not an idiot for declaring independance, you're a coward for not even trying."

 _Slap._

Natalia didn't even get a chance to think over what she said before her sister's hand collided with her cheek. And quite painfully. She clutched her aching cheek with her palm, letting the bandages fall off her arm, revealing a painful and horrid mess of blood, peroxide mixing in some places. Katerina looked at the injury in disgust and shock, her hand barely being set down. What Natalia couldn't tell her sister is that the rest of her body was decorated with tens of these injuries, most of them untreated.

Unsure of whether it was because she was so angry with her sister, or disgusted with the bruises and cuts on her skin, or maybe even regretful of attacking Natalia out of nowhere, but Katerina stood up and quickly started towards the door.

"I'll have someone deliver more peroxide for you. This happens often around here." She opened the door, but looked down, as to not face her sister in the eye any more, "Welcome back."

Natalia watched her sister leave with despair. Was this something Katerina did on impulse? Or did she really hate her that much after what she did? Was it really that awful? All these questions bubbled inside her mind as she sank her head down into the blanket and sobbed.

This wouldn't be the last night she would cry herself to sleep in that house.


End file.
